Tablets – Are they just a phase?

Number_25

Number_25

Number_25

Soldato
Joined
23 Dec 2010
Posts
3,483
Hey guys,

Well I've decided to make this thread so that we can discuss tablet computers and the possible future of them.

During my short few years of reading and researching certain technologies, I've never seen anything as hyped or as well documented as the 'rise' of tablet computers.

This has never been so true as Google (with ASUS) start shipping out the Nexus 7 (a tablet which only costs £150), the media interest surrounding it has been to such a level that it can start to be described as 'daft'.

To me I just look at things from a hardware prospective and judge them up on that. So let's go through what the Nexus has to offer.
  • 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 Processor. - Used in mobile phones
  • Nvidia Gerforce ULP – Used in mobile phones
  • 1GB RAM – Around the same most mobile phones are shipped with now a days.
  • 1280x800 screen measuring 7 inches. - Larger than a mobile phone.

And the Google Android 4.1 Operating System – Used in mobile phones.

So to me, tablets at the moment are just mobile phones without the connectivity and a larger screen.

Seems a bit silly to me a bit, why would I have a tablet like that as well as a mobile phone which can do the exact same – and plus call/text people.

Anyone else agree or do you disagree?

Thanks

N25.
 
I disagree. We live in an age where digital media consumption is becoming more and more popular (ebooks, mp3's, catch up tv, lovefilm and the like) Tablets are media consumption devices. They're still a young technology but they're not going away.

The fact you're stripping it down to specs shows you're missing the point. A tablet is a device about function. I don't want to watch TV on my phone, I don't want to read comics or books on my phone, I want to read them on my lovely high res tablet.
 
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Tablets are Awesome & definitely the way forward for casual sofa browsing. :cool:
 
Shamikebab said:
I disagree. We live in an age where digital media consumption is coming more and more popular (ebooks, mp3's, catch up tv, lovefilm and the like) Tablets are media consumption devices. They're still a young technology but they're not going away.

The fact you're stripping it down to specs shows you're missing the point. A tablet is a device about function. I don't want to watch TV on my phone, I don't want to read comics or books on my phone, I want to read them on my lovely high res tablet.
Click to expand...

Well put that man.
 
As you said it has a much larger screen than a phone, that is a massive difference and changes how comfortable it is to use.

Mobile computing is the future.
Desktop sales have dropped, while mobile sales has increased. In china the mobile usage has outstripped desktop for how people access the internet and I fully expect this to be a trend that spreads across the globe and increases.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18900778


Desktops have there uses, but the fact is the vast majority of people simply do not need a desktop. Not only is mobile computer cheaper, less power huger, it's also far more usefull.

Going back to phone vs tablet.
Why would you want to browse the Internet on a phone, watch films, read or anything else. They are good for those things when you want ultra portability or you get stuck out with time to kill. At all other times the tablet wins.

The phone is not used at home, the desktop is only used for games at home. Tablet just wins. Even when out if I know I have a lot of time to kill the tablet comes with me. If it just a short time or unexpected the smartphone is adjust back up, for when I don't have the tablet or the tablet size makes it unsuitable.

Tablets are the future, especially as you can do anything with them that a laptop/desktop can do, with the added bonus of a different form factor and they're vastly more portable.
 
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Have the Open golf on tv as I type this reply on my iPad from the sofa. Millions of these tablet devices have been sold worldwide and with Google bring out the Nexus 7 for nothing money you can see why they are not a phase.
 
Galaxy Note /thread

How would you use a proper tablet as a phone?

Glaucus said:
Going back to phone vs tablet.
Why would you want to browse the Internet on a phone, watch films, read or anything else. They are good for those things when you want ultra portability or you get stuck out with time to kill. At all other times the tablet wins.
Click to expand...

The note has a big enough screen that internet use, even watching films or reading e-books is quite comfortable while still being a very portable device, tho obviously there are times when you want the full estate of a tablet i.e. some books are much easier to read, if your looking at photos or showing photos to someone else then a tablet is much better for that, etc.
 
Galaxy note for me and many others is far to big to be used as a phone. Great if it works for you, but it's not a universally liked format.
Even with that I would still much rather watch a film or browse on a 10-12" tablet than a note. Even if note suited me I would still have a tablet, for home/train/planes/work. There's just no replacement for screen size.

More to the point, why would you want to use a tablet as a phone?
 
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Number_25 said:
Seems a bit silly to me a bit, why would I have a tablet like that as well as a mobile phone which can do the exact same – and plus call/text people.
Click to expand...

Because phone battery life sucks, and a tablet offers a larger display which makes it far nicer to use for most internet/web-based activities. They can't do the "exact same" at all.

I've had a Samsung Tab for a few weeks now and I think I've probably only charged it three or four times. My S2, on the other hand, is on charge every other night.
 
No. They are not a phase.

They are extremely useful and I know many people who have replaced their desktop PC/laptop with one.
 
I don't think the battle is phone vs tablet - they both serve very different tasks. The battle to me is laptop/nettop vs tablet. I don't quite understand why (except price) i'd get a tablet instead of an ultraportable laptop. A
 
sketchytom said:
i had a tablet and sold it after a week. all good at first but i found myself just using my pc
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Yeah I think it depends a lot on your useage - for someone like my mum who only ever uses a computer to access the bbc web-site/local news, some photos and the odd bit of shopping on Amazon a tablet makes far more sense.
 
Personally I like the usually instant on feature, usually when in sleep they seep little power and you can power on straight away. Then browse away, I use my iPad for web browsing, watching online content, streaming from my Vu Duo, reading books, playing games, listening to music, social networking, and so on. Much quicker to do those type of tasks on a tablet than using a desktop or laptop which I still use. Obviously not as fast to type when compared to using a hardware keyboard but the on screen keyboards are not too shabby.

For consumption they are fine for creation I'd rather use a PC/laptop but I find myself consuming more media so the iPad justifies it's uses.

I still have an Android tablet which is gathering dust and needs selling as to me it just feels like a bigger version of my phone so personally I like having the choice of 2 different OS's to play with and not get bored of them. I think if I had an iPhone I would not have got an iPad.
 
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